[AP] HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday lifted a decades-old arms export embargo for Vietnam during his first visit to the communist country, looking to bolster a government seen as a crucial, though flawed partner even as he pushes for better human rights from the one-party state.
Obama announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference, saying the move was intended to step toward normalizing relations with the former war enemy and to eliminate a "lingering vestige of the Cold War."
"At this stage both sides have developed a level of trust and cooperation," Obama said, adding that he expected deepening cooperation between the two nation's militaries.
Obama is seeking to strike this balance with Vietnam amid Chinese efforts to strengthen claims to disputed territory in the South China Sea, one of the world's most important waterways.
Lifting the arms embargo will be a psychological boost for Vietnam's leaders as they look to counter an increasingly aggressive China, but there may not be a big jump in sales. Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang thanked Obama for lifting the embargo.
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President Obama arrived in the steamy capital of Vietnam ahead of schedule on Sunday night to begin three days of meetings in hopes of luring yet another Southeast Asian country away from China’s tight embrace. He was greeted on the tarmac by a young woman in a long yellow dress who handed him a bouquet of flowers. Several second-tier Vietnamese officials shook the president’s hand before he climbed into his limousine for a quick trip to his hotel after nearly 24 hours of travel. Quiet clusters of people on the dark streets watched his motorcade pass. Except for the small groups, the streets seemed to have been completely cleared.
Since Air Force One had been scheduled to land after midnight, or about three hours later, the official arrival ceremony with high officials in attendance was postponed until Monday morning. Maybe then Mr. Obama will see the kind of emotional outpouring that greeted President Bill Clinton in 2000, when he became the first United States president to visit the country since the Vietnam War. But it is possible that relations between the two countries have reached a stage that the arrival of an American head of state no longer seems so unusual.
Mr. Obama will meet with the country’s newly installed prime minister and president on Monday, then get together with the country’s real power — Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Communist Party.
Mr. Obama’s visit is an important step in a complex dance that Vietnam has carried on with China for centuries. The population here is deeply nationalistic and anti-Chinese sentiment is visceral. The American War, as it is known here, is mostly forgotten, particularly since half of the population is under 30.
Vietnam relies on China for trade, investment and even the water that feeds the vast Mekong Delta, so the leadership knows it can poke the dragon only so much. But in 2014, China placed a giant deep-sea drilling rig to explore for oil and gas right off the Vietnamese coast, and Mr. Trong could not even get his telephone calls to Beijing returned.
Since then, Vietnam has stepped up its contacts with the United States. Neither the United States nor Vietnam is ready for a formal alliance, but Vietnam may grant American warships access to its ports, and Washington seems certain at least to widen exceptions to its longtime arms embargo and may end it altogether.
Human rights remain a barrier to closer ties. While the country does have elections — polling places were packed Sunday for a parliamentary election — candidates must be approved by the Communist Party.
Mr. Obama plans to meet with some dissidents and civil society leaders on Tuesday before making a speech.
American help in reforming Vietnam’s economy is also high on the agenda for leaders of both countries.
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#1
Yes, we told him to go. When he's out of the country his 'negatives' recede, then of course there's the 100 Boeing 737 MAX 200 sale, but who better to stir up shi* in Asia?
#3
News From The Front - very interesting that POTUS led with the announcement and the Boeing deal. In my experience they build up a little and make announcements on the last day (tomorrow in this case). I think the admin wanted to show the ChiComms straight away he means bidness. All of this was of course worked out back channel w/Charlie long ago. These trips are soooo scripted. Literally down to the color of the table cloths and the floral arraignments. Optics are good for the admin on this one vis a vis the ChiComms/re re pivot. Standby for flowery media play from the usual suspects. The term "rock star" was already used. Nostradamus sez look for Charlie to quietly release some low/mid-level dissidents in a few months as to not connect it to the visit/deal.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
05/23/2016 8:56 Comments ||
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#4
He had to do it before he left office. Couldn't leave that one on the table for Trump.
#5
very interesting that POTUS led with the announcement and the Boeing deal
Creating those jobs must have hurt him. He'll probably allow them to be manufactured in Vietnam or something equally stupid just to claw some of that back.
[AsiaOne] Malaysian police have arrested 14 suspected Daesh rebels - 13 men and a woman - in a special operation that spanned six states. The 14 suspects were picked up between May 17 and May 20.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said, "Eight of the suspects were responsible for channeling funds to Daesh in Syria and the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines. They were detained in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak, Perlis and Johor."
He added that the eight have connections to a Malaysian Daesh fighter in Syria, Muhammad Wandy Mohamed Jedi.
Noor Rashid said in a statement that one of the eight detainees is a relative of Muhammad Wandy, and that his account was used to send funds to Daesh. Rashid said, "He is actively recruiting new militants in Malaysia and has threatened to murder the Prime Minister and Bukit Aman's top officer."
He said that two of the 14 were detained for promoting Daesh propaganda on Facebook while another had hosted Daesh-related meetings at his home.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ryuge ||
05/23/2016 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11144 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[Telegraph] When a British-Canadian mining expert was beheaded by an Islamist kidnap gang in the southern Philippines, the nations leaders pledged to unleash the full might of the military to "neutralize" the Abu Sayyaf. But in the weeks since, there has been no sign of progress in the "relentless manhunt" for the gunmen who murdered John Ridsdel and hold two other Westerners.
During the last two decades, Abu Sayyaf militants have developed an abduction-for-ransom operation that blends ruthless banditry and religious fanaticism. In recent months, they have become increasingly brazen in their speedboat-driven raids, seeking kidnap targets far from their strongholds. In their lair, the Sulu archipelago, terrain and local support certainly favor the rebels. They hide out in the dense jungle on islands where they divide their time between piracy and farming jackfruit and durian.
The local economy there is so dependent on the kidnap business that it has become a way of life. The profits are shared between corrupt officials and military commanders, Islamic leaders and tribal elders, distributed down to local villagers who provide food and cover, not to mention the militants themselves and their arms procurers.
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Posted by: ryuge ||
05/23/2016 00:00 ||
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[11138 views]
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[CTV] Abu Sayyaf insurgents in the Philippines have released a new video of the three hostages abducted from a resort last fall, including Canadian Robert Hall.
In footage released Sunday, Hall is dressed in an orange T-shirt wearing handcuffs. Two fellow captives, a man from Norway and a woman from the Philippines, are seated on the ground next to him. Hall pleads with Philippine president elect Rodrigo Duterte to "work on our behalf as soon as possible to get us out of here."
"It appears my government has abandoned me and my family in this endeavour," he said.
To his family and friends, Hall says, "I know you did everything you can. I truly appreciate it. I’m sorry I got you in this mess."
Canadian hostage John Ridsdel, who was kidnapped with the three others, was beheaded on April 25. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that the Canadian government refuses to negotiate with terrorists.
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Posted by: ryuge ||
05/23/2016 00:00 ||
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[11133 views]
Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
President Obama arrived in the steamy capital of Vietnam ahead of schedule on Sunday night to begin three days of meetings in hopes of luring yet another Southeast Asian country away from China’s tight embrace. He was greeted on the tarmac by a young woman in a long yellow dress who handed him a bouquet of flowers. Several second-tier Vietnamese officials shook the president’s hand before he climbed into his limousine for a quick trip to his hotel after nearly 24 hours of travel. Quiet clusters of people on the dark streets watched his motorcade pass. Except for the small groups, the streets seemed to have been completely cleared.
[AsiaOne] Malaysian police have arrested 14 suspected Daesh rebels - 13 men and a woman - in a special operation that spanned six states. The 14 suspects were picked up between May 17 and May 20.
[Telegraph] When a British-Canadian mining expert was beheaded by an Islamist kidnap gang in the southern Philippines, the nations leaders pledged to unleash the full might of the military to "neutralize" the Abu Sayyaf. But in the weeks since, there has been no sign of progress in the "relentless manhunt" for the gunmen who murdered John Ridsdel and hold two other Westerners.
